Rising star Banlung drives Thailand’s taekwondo sweep

Inspired by the stellar performance of highly rated exponent Banlung Tubtimdang, Thailand’s taekwondo team maintained its dominance by securing a second consecutive treble of gold medals at the 33rd SEA Games at Fashion Island Shopping Mall on Friday.

Having won at least one gold on each of the first two days of the Korean martial arts competition—including the country’s first gold of the home Games through Watcharakul Limjittrakorn in the women’s individual freestyle poomsae—Thai fighters produced another dazzling display befitting their status as the regional powerhouse.

Among the standout performers was Banlung, Thailand’s newest world champion following his triumph at the 2025 Taekwondo World Championships, who continues to justify the growing belief that he is the nation’s next big star after the retirement of two-time Olympic champion Panipak “Tennis” Wongpattanakit.

After outclassing his Myanmar opponent in the semifinals, Banlung began cautiously in the gold-medal bout against Lao Nusair of the Philippines.

Trailing 4-2 with less than 30 seconds remaining, the lanky Thai suddenly sprang into action, storming to an 11-5 victory in dramatic fashion.

Buoyed by confidence and loud support from home fans, Banlang looked every bit the world champion in the second round as he unleashed a ruthless onslaught to dominate the Filipino 18-2 and seal the SEA Games title emphatically.

Having won gold on his SEA Games debut, Banlang said he hopes to follow in Panipak’s Olympic footsteps.

“It’s my first appearance at the Games and it’s on home soil. Honestly, I was so excited, but I tried to stay focused,” Banlang said. “My next target is the Olympics, but I’ll try to gain as much experience as I can along the way.

“Tennis is my idol. She won every tournament she competed in. Hopefully I can do the same. I really want to win at the Olympics.”

Earlier in the day, Kamonchanok Seeken, tasked with succeeding the retired Panipak in the women’s 49kg class, faced her first stern test on her Games debut against the Philippines’ Tachiana Mangin.

Despite showing more aggression in the opening round, the young Thai trailed 4-1. In an enthralling finish, Kamonchanok briefly clawed her way back with a brilliant turning kick to tie it 7-7.

However, Mangin edged ahead with decisive late kicks to take a 1-0 lead in the bout.

Kamonchanok appeared to have turned things around in the next round, leading 3-0 heading into the final seconds, but a replay review gave Mangin a lifeline and leveled the score at 3-3.

Riding the momentum shift, the Filipino eventually prevailed after the second session ended in a tie, with the final decision awarded on raw score—much to the disappointment of the home crowd.

In the men’s 58kg final, Sirawit Mahamad and Vietnam’s Dinh Cong Khoa delivered a gripping duel that had fans on their feet throughout.

The match didn’t initially hint at such drama as Sirawit cruised to a 16-4 first-round win. But the bout suddenly turned into a slugfest as both fighters went toe-to-toe, trading kicks before the Vietnamese edged the exchange with a late dramatic strike to force a third round.

The final round began poorly for Sirawit as he fell behind early, but backed by roaring home support, he clawed himself back into the contest and produced a breathtaking late surge to win the title 22-12 in spectacular fashion.

The last Thai fighter in the finals, Thanathorn Saejo, faced the least resistance among his teammates in the men’s 80kg decider, cruising to a 2-0 win (14-4, 22-15) over Indonesia’s Mohamad Raihan Fadhila to complete a second straight golden treble for Thailand.